Renewables contribute to smaller carbon footprint for EVs

The Informer
Posted on: 29/08/2017

Britain’s electric vehicles are becoming more environmentally-friendly thanks to the decarbonisation of the country’s electricity system, a new report has found.

The study, commissioned by power station operator Drax and compiled by Imperial College London, found that the power produced between April and June contained 199g of CO2 per kWh – 10% lower than the previous minimum set last year.

Andy Koss, Drax Power CEO, said: “Our biomass generating units deliver carbon savings of 68% compared to gas power stations and more than 80% compared to when they used coal.

“The need for more flexible renewable power generation is a real example of the challenges Dieter Helm’s review for BEIS must address.”

Telsa, Nissan and BMW named

Iain Staffell, Lecturer in Sustainable Energy Systems at Imperial College London, added: “Producing the electricity to charge a Tesla Model S back in 2012 would have created 124g of carbon per km driven.

“Nowadays emissions from charging the same car have halved to 74g per km driven in winter and just 41g per km in summer – thanks to the decarbonisation of electricity generation in the UK.

“Smaller electric cars like the Nissan Leaf and BMW i3 can be charged for less than half the CO2 of the cleanest non-electric car on the market – the Toyota Prius hybrid.”